Karua: Sharon verdict should end culture of delayed justice in femicide

People's Liberation Party leader Martha Karua has said the conviction of former Migori Governor Okoth Obado and his two co-accused over the murder of university student Sharon Otieno should serve as a turning point in Kenya's response to femicide.

She said Sharon's family had finally received justice after nearly eight years of waiting, but noted that the lengthy process underscored the urgent need to reform how such cases are handled.

"It has taken seven years and 10 months, 42 prosecution witnesses, and 81 exhibits presented by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for justice for Sharon Otieno to finally arrive. Today, as Sharon's family sat in court to hear the verdict, we were reminded of the immense cost of justice delayed," Karua said.

While commending the prosecution for securing the convictions, Karua said justice should not take nearly a decade, urging institutions within the criminal justice system to handle all femicide cases with the same commitment shown in Sharon's case.

"We commend the prosecution, but justice must not take nearly a decade," she said.

Karua noted that women across the country continue to lose their lives to femicide, saying every victim deserves an equally thorough investigation and timely prosecution regardless of the level of public attention a case attracts.

"Across Kenya, from young girls to grandmothers, women continue to be lost to a horrific wave of femicide. Our police, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the courts must bring the same rigour, urgency and commitment to every case, not only those that attract national attention," she said.

She further called on all Kenyans to play a role in ending violence against women.

"We must all do our part to end the killing of women," Karua said.

Her remarks came after the High Court found former Migori Governor Okoth Obado, his former personal assistant Michael Oyamo and former Migori County clerk Caspal Obiero guilty of Sharon's murder, bringing to an end one of Kenya's most closely watched criminal trials.

Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Cecilia Githua ruled that the prosecution had proved its case against the three accused persons beyond reasonable doubt.

"It is therefore my finding that the prosecution has proved its case against the first, second and third accused persons beyond reasonable doubt. I consequently find each accused guilty of the offence of murder. Each accused is accordingly convicted," the judge ruled.

The case arose from the September 2018 killing of Sharon, a 26-year-old Rongo University student who was about seven months pregnant at the time of her death.

During the trial, the prosecution called 42 witnesses and relied largely on circumstantial evidence, presenting 81 exhibits in support of its case.

Justice Githua found that the prosecution had established an unbroken chain of circumstantial evidence linking the three accused persons to Sharon's abduction and murder.

The court also found that Obado had a motive arising from Sharon's pregnancy and rejected his claim that he had accepted it, holding that evidence presented during the trial showed he had instead pressured her to terminate it.

Sharon was abducted alongside Nation Media Group journalist Barrack Oduor after leaving Graca Hotel in Rongo on September 3, 2018.

Oduor escaped by jumping from the moving vehicle, while Sharon's body was later found in a thicket near Kodera Forest in Homa Bay county with multiple stab wounds.

The convictions marked the end of nearly eight years of investigations and court proceedings in a case that has remained a defining symbol of Kenya's fight against violence targeting women.